Arlo Guthrie Sunday Weird Folk Celebration Celebrating the 2022 Birthday of the National Treasure

Arlo Guthrie (July 10, 1947) is best known for his 18-minute “talkin’ blues” folk song, “Alice’s Restaurant Massacre”, which busts the devils for dumping garbage (“dustbin”) on Thanksgiving. In fact, from what I’ve heard on the radio, I believe it’s become an “official” Thanksgiving song, where it’s “Group W Bench” and the in-spectacled, view-lected , sings about being sent to the Injected and Re-jected. By the Draft Board for the offense of littering. The punch line for the Draft Board is his statement “I’m sitting here on the Group W bench” because you Want to know if I am moral enough to join the army, burn women, children, houses and villages, after a pile of rubbish.” Any kind of anti-war statement…

from wikipedia,

The song teases the draft of the Vietnam War. However, Guthrie said … that Alice’s Restaurant is more an “anti-silly” song than an anti-war song, adding that it is based on a true incident. In the song, Guthrie is called in for a draft exam, and is dismissed as unfit for military service as a result of a criminal record – which includes the same arrest, court appearance, littering and fines for making and Includes cleaning order. A public nuisance on Thanksgiving Day in 1965, when Arlo was 18 years old.

Lest you think he was a one-hit wonder, he even wrote a great FBI protest song called “The Pause of Mr. Claus” (video below!) where he argues that Santa is a dope fiend, communist, and pacifist. In the audience that followed them, suggesting to the FBI that if anyone finds out who they are, they will need to be “sent back to the factory”, which is “a burden to you and an expense to the government.” ” And I also found videos of him performing his Steve Goodman hit, lamenting the “disappearing railroad blues” of a train called “City of New Orleans”, the ever-great “motorcycle song”, and his classic, “Coming in Los Angeles”. Used to do Bringing in some keys, don’t check my bags if you please Mr Customs man…” at Woodstock.

I had the special pleasure of seeing him on my birthday in April 2015. This show was excellent. Warm, intimate, classy, ​​loose, he told stories that made us laugh and he sang songs and told his thoughts about his life and many more songs that brought us all together and made us cry. Made it feel like we were one of them. music. That is the power of folk music.

So for your enjoyment, here it is Arlo!

Here is Arlo, in his full brilliance at the Guthrie Center, performing “Alice’s Restaurant” in 2005.

Here is the original 1967 studio record. Here’s the Perfect 18+ Minute Masterpiece of “Alice’s Restaurant”

From Atlanta in 1978, “City of New Orleans”

Now we present our favorite artist on that first day! In the spirit of Arlo’s head space, here’s his opening number, an iconic ode to Green Power! Here’s his 1969 Woodstock performance (as featured on the original film soundtrack) herding the iconic “Coming Into Los Angeles” lota freaks, live footage of Arlo accompanying the song’s ending.

Here’s his performance of Bob Dylan’s tune “Walkin’ Down the Line” (This year’s clip includes Arlo’s rap about the event closing the NY State Turnpike with “Lotta Freak.”)

Here is the audio of their entire 45 minute set! Arlo Guthrie at Woodstock 1969 – The Complete Set

Since the song was excellently performed in the studio, here is a studio version featuring some of the best session players in history, “Coming Into Los Angeles” (some players include James Burton, Clarence White, Rae Cooder, Jim Gordon). , Chris Etheridge, and Gene Parsons!)

Last year I had a great clip from 1984 in which Arlo talks about his Woodstock experience, champagne and his performance there, followed by a live performance of “Coming Into Los Angeles”, but it’s gone this year Is.

And yet, this clip is hilarious! For your enjoyment, the 10-minute Arlo is telling a great story and performing “Coming to Los Angeles”

Since 1975, Arlo has been performing “Motorcycle Song”

A great 1975 audio-only performance by Pete Seeger and Arlo in a lively version of “Walkin’ Down the Line.”

Arlo doing a spectacular version of “The Garden Song”‘s flamboyant atmosphere

From the late ’70s, Arlo gives us “The City of New Orleans,” and then Pete Seeger comes out to join Arlo and the audience in a spectacular performance of “Amazing Grace.”

Arlo and Pete Seeger teamed up in a 1993 PBS-filmed live performance at Wolftrap for this amazing hour and 10 video! Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger in concert together – Wolftrap live 1993

From that great Wolftrap show, we have tons of single tune clips. We start with “If I Had a Hammer”, which is followed by “When a Soldier Makes It Home”. They then went on to tell an 8-minute story followed by “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

Later in the set they performed the ever-popular “City of New Orleans” and closed with a tune that should be our national anthem, “This Land Is Your Land”.

In May 2007, Arlo performed the iconic “This Land Is Your Land” song from a Better America by his father, Woody.

On a related note, here Arlo has been doing Woody’s “Patchers of Plenty” since 1944, here’s Woody’s original version of “Pachers of Plenty”

Since 2018, Arlo is doing the full version of “Mr. Tambourine Man”

Last year I had several great performances by Arlo and Keith Lockhart, who led the Boston Pops, but this year has all been shut down. That’s why we don’t get “This Land Is Your Land,” “Week on the Rag” and “Last Train to Glory” while we have “City of New Orleans.”

We will kick off this Arlo/Boston Pops performance with a great version of “Coming in Los Angeles” with a Pink Panther theme, Get Smart theme, Eye Spy theme and a James Bond theme.

Now we move on to some of the best performances of a great tune. Introducing the best 1974 performance of the song on soundstage! “City of New Orleans”

We have more performances of this classic! Arlo and Shenandoah are in great form in this 1978 Atlanta performance! “City of New Orleans.”

Now we turn to Arlo, Willie, John, and the rest of the pickers, performing a spectacular version of “City of New Orleans” in the classic First Farm Aid 1985.

And yet, this time from Pharm Aid 2008, “City of New Orleans”

Here Arlo and St. Willie are performing “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” live in 2005.

From Farm Aid III in 1987, Arlo, Willie, Neil, Chris, and dozens of cast members concluded the show with Woody’s American classic, “This Land Is Your Land”.

A 10-minute talk on stage where Arlo thanked the narcissists who made his career.

To complete this birthday celebration, here’s a treat! This is an amazingly funny performance! Here’s his classic “The Pause of Mr. Claus,” for an 8-minute studio version with a longer intro to his live album. For the short song only, here it is “Mr. Klaus’s Pause.”

For our encore, I found a very strange 25-minute variation of the tune, which tells the story of multicolored cockroaches armed by Russia and China. Alice’s Restaurant Multi-colored Rainbow Roach Case

Thanks for everything over the decades, Arlo. You really keep the flame alive! May you have many more years of joy, entertaining us with your poignant ballads and gentle, playful sense of humour.

© Copyright 2022 Robert Wilkinson